realism-n; 5 Senses

Sense Number 1: a pragmatic attitude or approach to things

Commentary: REALISM[+state][+mental][+attitude][+pragmatic]
NOTE: refers to an ongoing attitude or viewpoint

Examples:
The new CEO is known for his realism and his work ethic.
The economic summit was marked by a new spirit of realism.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 2: an actual external situation, not a hypothetical one

Commentary: REALISM[+state][+external][+actual][-hypothetical]
NOTE: refers to an overall external situation

Examples:
He hasn't yet grasped the realism of his brother's terminally-ill condition.
For a few hours at night, in the cabarets, they could shut out the realism of the war.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 3

Sense Number 3: having a lifelike quality or attribute

Commentary: REALISM[+quality][+lifelike]
NOTE: refers to a natural-looking or lifelike attribute of some entity

Examples:
The realism of the faces on the wax figures was truly amazing.
The critics love the earthy realism of the playwright's characters.

Mappings:
WordNet 0.0 Sense Numbers: 2

Sense Number 4: artistic and literary movements that strove for fidelity to nature in their representations

Commentary: REALISM[+activity][+undertaking][+movement][+artistic][+fidelity][+to_nature]

Examples:
The museum's new exhibit includes some interesting examples of French realism.
The literature class will cover several major representative authors of 19th-century realism.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 4

Sense Number 5: philosophical propositions that the external world's existence is independent of thought

Commentary: REALISM[+state][+mental][+belief][+independence][+of_existence][+of_external_world][+outside_mind]

Examples:
Plato's work represents an important early formulation of realism, that objects truly exist in the world apart from our thinking about them.
The physicist thought arguing for, or against, realism versus nominalism was a complete waste of time.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 2, 5